Category Archives: Newest Blogs (最新ブログ)

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 30, 2020 Japan is extremely behind the times when it comes to online learning. However, the current COVID-19 crises may be a good chance for schools to start it if the Ministry of Education and Science can get their act together and allow it. Common Types of Online Learning BLENDED LEARNING: This mixes physical classroom learning with some online learning. The teacher is in the classroom and the student is either in the classroom or online. HYBRID COURSES: These combine online learning with face-to-face learning. There can be several instructors teaching the courses, but the student is mostly online. SUPPLEMENTAL LEARNING: This is mainly additional learning and taken with other classes. The learning and testing are all done online. ONLINE COURSES: The course is taught completely online and the student can be in class […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 28, 2020 Here in Japan, we have politicians telling the people to stay home and practice social distancing. Yet, we see the same Covidiots on TV sitting elbow to elbow in crowded rooms where they discuss ways in which to tell the people how to avoid crowded rooms, poor ventilation and social distancing while talking. They’re so desperate to get their faces on TV that they line up shoulder to shoulder in the same crowded room filled with photographers forced to film their publicity-hungry figures. Talk about putting people at risk! It’s time for these people to start practicing what they preach!! バカな政治家：言行を一致させる 日本では、政治家は国民に外出自粛を呼び掛けたり、ベン図の『密封空間』、『近距離会話』や『手の置く距離に多くの人』交わりの危険性を注意したりしている。 他方ではその同じバカな政治家は会議で肘が接するほどの距離に座って、国民にその3つの危険条件を伝える方法を話す。更にテレビに自分の顔を映るために肩を並べて立ち、同じ混んでいる部屋に並ぶ。同じ部屋には可哀そうに、危険にさらされているカメラマンがいなければならない。どこまでアホか？！ 政治家は言行を一致させるべきだ！！ ************ English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 27, 2020 COVID-19 Info Links I’m taking a free Coursera MOOC course offered by the Imperial College London & Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics on COVID-19 on COVID-19. The course provided a list of handy links to up-to-date information on COVID-19, which I’d like to share here. WHO J-IDEA Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics/Imperial College CDC US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention ECDC European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention John Hopkins (Live disease tracker) All of the pages and the information they provide and lead to are very useful in seeing what is happening in the current pandemic. COVID-19情報リンク Coursera上のImperial College London, Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics提供のCOVID-19の無料コースを受けている。 そのコースからいくつかの役立つリンクを知った。 WHO J-IDEA Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics/Imperial College […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 25, 2020 News reports stemming from information put out by the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology have pointed to anosmia (loss of the sense of smell) or ageusia (decline in the ability to taste things) as indicative symptoms in otherwise asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. According to an article in the NY Times, citing a report from S. Korea, some 30 percent of 2,000 patients who tested positive for the virus reported a loss of smell. A few German physicians have been reporting from 50 to 75 percent of patients experiencing the symptoms of either anosmia or ageusia or both. Italian physicians have already added the two symptoms to otherwise asymptomatic patients who are infectious. People experiencing such symptoms should self-isolate themselves until they can be tested. 匂い・味が分らん：新型コロナウイルスかも 英国の耳鼻咽喉科会の報告に基づいたニュースによると突然の臭覚障害または無味覚症は他の無症状のCOVID-19の症状であることを指摘した。 韓国の研究発表を引用したNYタイムズの記事によると2000人の陽性患者の30%が臭覚障害を訴えた。数人のドイツの医師は臭覚障害または無味覚症の患者率が50%～75%と報告した。 いずれの症状が現れたら自粛隔離や検査が適切だ。 *********** English novels by Billy Hammond […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 24, 2020 13-year old Hime Takimoto saw the long lines of people in front of drugstores waiting for surgical masks that had already sold out and noticed the profiteering going on in selling them on auction and flea market sites on the Net. She decided to do something about it and asked her mom to withdraw her savings. She took her savings and purchased fabric and mask-making materials and began to sew. She managed to make 612 cloth masks and attached handwritten messages to each one expressing her hopes that they would be of some help. She took her hand-sewn masks and gave them to Mayor Nagasaki of Yamanashi Prefecture, who gratefully accepted them and promised to distribute them to elderly and children’s institutions. The photo in the Japanese article shows her donating her […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 23, 2020 The temperature variations this past winter were too extreme for the Chinese pea seedlings I transplanted at the end of November and most of them died of frost damage in spite of measures that would usually enable most of them to make it through the season. I direct-seeded the gaps and the seeds are germinating now. サヤエンドウ：発芽 去る冬の温度変化が例年よりも大きかったので11月に植え替えたサヤエンドウ苗が殆ど霜で枯れた。そこで3月初めに枯れた個所に種を蒔いた。発芽し始めている。 *********** English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) II. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire Trilogy 1. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire 2. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Returns 3. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire – Challenges (The […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 21, 2020 Quarantine Shaming In an AP article yesterday entitled, “‘Quarantine shaming’: US navigates radical new social norms” Gillian Flaccus outlines how Americans are now expressing their irritation at those who ignore social distancing for their own selfish pleasures. According to the article, a person who posted photos on Instagram of a small dinner gathering of local business leaders at a local restaurant was blasted for his actions in the current COVID-19 environment where people are being encouraged to self-isolate. Likewise, the people who flocked to the less-populated suburbs from LA as soon as schools were closed were singled out. It made me think about Japan and the large numbers of people (especially teenagers) who are ignoring the government’s admonition to stay home and refrain from unnecessary travel. As we enter the 2nd day […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 16, 2020 Children breath fast. Having taught children in various age ranges for decades, I’m familiar with the fact that they have more rapid rates of breathing than adults. An adult who isn’t used to children may become concerned, but a fast rate is normal for them. Here are the rate ranges I learned in an EMT pediatric medicine class. The numbers are breaths per minute. Neonate (birth to 28 days): 30-69 Infant: (1 – 12 months): 24-50 Toddler (1-3 years): 22-30 Preschooler: (3-5 years): 20-28 School Age (5-11 years): 16-24 Adolescent (12-18): 16-22 Just in case you’re wondering, the normal range for an adult is generally agreed to be 12-16 breaths per minute. 新生児・小児呼吸数 子供の呼吸は速い。数十年子供を教えて、彼らの速い呼吸に慣れた。子供に余り接していない大人はその速い呼吸数に気になるかも知らないが、正常だ。 コロンビア大学提供の救命士の小児医療で覚えた呼吸数は次の通り。数字は1分当たりの呼吸数。 新生児（出産時～28日）: 30-69 乳児 : (1 – 12 ケ月): 24-50 幼児 (1-3 歳): 22-30 未就学児 : (3-5 歳): […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 15, 2020 When I was a college student taking chemistry back in the ’70s, I remember the professor saying, “Remember CH3OH (methanol) and C2H6O (ethanol). The single form will make you blind if you drink it.” As little as 10mL (0.3 fl oz) can destroy the optic nerve and leave you blind if you accidentally drink it. In the current panic buying of alcohol, it’s important to remember the difference (transferring it to containers that children might handle, etc.) *********** メタノールとエタノール 1970年代の化学のクラスで教授が「CH3OH (メタノール) と C2H6O (エタノール)を覚えなさい。半分の方(CH3)を飲むと失明する」 僅かな10mLで視神経を破壊する。 最近の消毒液買いだめ騒動ではその差を覚えなければならない（瓶の入れ替え、子供の手が届く所に置くなど） ************* English novels by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) March 4, 2020 Cram Schools: The Next Infection Epicenters? I watched news footage on TV showing students attending cram schools (juku) from the morning due to the government’s shutdown of the schools. The economics of most cram schools dictate that they utilized limited and usually rented space to seat as many students as possible. As such, the students on TV were seated even closer to each other than they would be in school classrooms. The cram school operators stressed that they were taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as using alcohol to wash their students hands, taking body temperatures and having their students wear masks. Still, from what we’ve seen so far in nosocomial in-hospital infections where the infected were professionals with expertise in the prevention of the same. It’s ludicrous to […]